Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Equinox Rox!

Fall is here and as we pass the Autumnal equinox that means lots of great new music!  Now that people are back at school it's a great time for bands to release new albums, singles and more.  There's lots of great stuff coming up in the next few weeks and here are some highlights of things that are out now!

NEEDMORE (http://www.myspace.com/NEEDMORE) just released a new single "Lost My Way" which is really good. It's the best $1 you can spend this week!

Andrew Ripp (http://www.myspace.com/andrewripp) has a brand new album out called "She Remains The Same" which is produced by one of my favorite artists Dave Barnes (http://davebarnes.com/) - if you don't know Dave go listen to his stuff now - he's got an incredible voice and his songs are amazing.  But in this case it's all about Andrew who has created an outstanding album. I was more and more impressed with each and every song - definitely give it a listen and it's on Amazon's MP3 site for a mere $6.99.



The next two bands don't qualify as "emerging" bands but their new albums are so good I have to comment...
Zac Brown Band (http://www.zacbrownband.com/) album "You Get What You Give" is phenomenal. I'm so impressed and even more so considering the incredible pressure this band was under to produce something special considering the huge success of The Foundation.  They've done it in a big, big way and this album is going to be on the charts for a loooong time!

The Script (http://www.thescriptmusic.com/us/home/) also has a brand new album out called "Science and Faith" and I was ready to be disappointed. I was really concerned that the pressure from their label and their rise to super-stardom was going to make it hard for them to make a great second album - but they've done it. Tons of great songs on here as well so give them a listen!

Lots more to come so keep checking out the Emerge Music Group on facebook, twitter, Ping and of course here!

Enjoy the music!
Ira

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Three's Company

Three great artists for you to check out this week - each with their own sound/style so hopefully something for everyone!

Justin Jones (http://www.justin-jones.com/) is an incredible singer-songwriter who has that classic blue collar sound that reminds me of Bruce Springsteen or John Mellencamp. His brand new Little Fox EP was released by 9:30 Records - a label started for the sole purpose of releasing and promoting Justin's music. It's great stuff!

The Best Week Ever (http://www.purevolume.com/TheBestWeekEver) has a big name to live up to - but they do a great job of getting your heart rate going and putting a smile on your face. Be sure to check out "Unforgettable" which is my favorite. I also really like "You Don't Wanna Know" which features piano - fairly rare in this genre of music.  They are currently releasing one song at a time but each one is worth checking out.


View From An Airplane (http://www.purevolume.com/new/viewfromanairplane) - aside from being a cool name for a band - has just released a free 3 song acoustic EP that you can download from the link above. All 3 songs are great (and you can't beat the price) and it shows just how talented these guys are.  While you're there check out their other songs too - great stuff!

As always, feel free to comment on these bands and share what new stuff you've been listening to as well!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

New Music for September 7

One of the great things about a blog is I don't feel so restricted in terms of length. One of the things I hope to do regularly is feature new releases whether albums, EPs or singles.  This week there are a few that I think are worthy of your time, ears and money.

The album I'm most excited about this week is the brand new Jukebox the Ghost album "Everything Under the Sun." This band started in DC - I believe they went to George Washington University together - and has evolved very nicely into a great indie band that got to play on the David Letterman show last week and will soon be all over the airwaves (I think/hope). Their first single from the new album is called "Empire" and it is awesome.  From it's opening moments it is enchanting and the catchy chorus is fantastic.  The whole album is really good as well and definitely worth checking out. You can listen to a few songs here: http://www.myspace.com/jukeboxtheghost



Green River Ordinance has a new 6 song EP that is gorgeous. It's called "The Morning Passengers" and it's a stripped down and just great.  If you don't know this band you should - they create great pop/rock songs and have started to get more radio play (especially on XM). Very talented band with a very difficult band name.




And I just came across a great new song from an artist called "Plug In Stereo."  It's one of these "I'm really just a guy but I came up with a band name to seem cool" - and he is.  This is a 17 year old kid from Oregon and he's just released a great song called "Oh Darling" that features the vocals of Cady Groves (who I came across recently and I really love her voice). You can listen to the whole song on PureVolume.com (http://www.purevolume.com/pluginstereo)

It's a truly adorable and also catchy love song and worth every penny of the 99 cents it takes to own it.


Hope you take some time to check out these great new releases and thanks for reading!

If you've got something new that you've been loving - please comment and let me and others know!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Do you ever feel like someone is following you??

So iTunes has release version 10 and with it comes Ping - another way to "follow" others - I think in this case the idea is to find out about music - what people are listening to, enjoying, recommending, etc. Seems to make sense for me so I signed up - you can "follow me" by searching for Emerge Music.

I do find it kind of funny this whole idea of following people - "follow me on twitter" "follow my blog" "follow me on ping" - it could make someone a bit paranoid don't you think?  But since I'm known to enjoy sharing music - and especially new music - with people - I'll give it a shot.  I'm not sure how many different social networking type sites people have time to follow -and I don't know how many I have time to keep with up myself - but we'll give it a go!

So if you've downloaded the new version of iTunes and want to play along - Ping me - or something like that. In the meantime, I suggest checking out The Weepies brand new album "Be My Thrill" which is excellent.